By Cliff Rold

Watching Manny Pacquiao (46-3-2, 35 KO) do battle with Juan Manuel Marquez (48-4-1, 35 KO) is a joy to behold for anyone who loves boxing…

…but scoring the bouts between these two is about as much fun as a trip to a proctologist.  The score I came up with for the rematch will leave some in agreement and others thinking I need just such a medical specialist for a head removal-octomy.  Through twelve, I had Marquez winning eight rounds, same as I did the first time around, for a score of 115-112. 

That score comes with no cry of robbery nor any derision of Pacquiao’s new place as the World Jr. Lightweight champion.

In a fight that was at times thrilling, at others tactical, and always intense, Pacquiao’s narrow split-decision win came down to the same question for the judges, pundits and fans: what do you like?  Marquez was consistent behind the jab and accurate with the right hand for most of the last two-thirds of the bout.  Pacquiao was his typical, if more sparingly than usual, explosive self.  While not the classic witnessed in their first encounter, Marquez and Pacquiao proved again just how evenly matched and capable of drama they are when planted in opposite corners. 

Let’s go the report card.

Speed:    At 29, is Manny slowing down just a hair?  After the fourth round, it appeared that Manny lost some of the snap on his shots but against a master craftsman like Marquez it’s hard to tell.  The southpaw short left hook that dropped Marquez in the third was certainly laser fast and in the first half of the fight Pacquiao effectively altered the trajectory of his straight left when he needed, arcing it for great affect.  In the second half of the bout, Pacquiao’s reactions seemed a step behind his intentions.  As noted in the pre-fight report card, “timing can control speed and that’s where Marquez is a gem.”  He proved it again on Saturday night.  At 34, he still knows how to give dictate distance.  While Manny’s bursts caught the eye, it was Marquez who controlled the geography of the fight.  Ultimately, the fight was decided on the short left hook in the third in a split-second loss of that control.  Pre-Fight Grades: Pacquiao A; Marquez B/Post-Fight: Same

Power:   And now with more on the third…wow.  I think that shot may even have surprised Pacquiao with how suddenly it blew through the opening Marquez left him.  The blood he brought from both of Marquez’s eyes was also evidence of Manny’s fistic presence.  Marquez was not left behind in this category.  He rocked Pacquiao on more than one occasion, busted up his right eye, and sent Manny to the corner looking repeatedly frustrated from the fifth round forward.  The separation between the two was and remains that Marquez’s power is thudding and accumulating; Pacquiao’s is sharp. Pre-Fight Grades: Pacquiao A; Marquez B+/Post-Fight: Same

Defense:   If this fight was slightly less than its predecessor, it was because Pacquiao’s defense was improved in spots.  Pacquiao fought a more measured fight from the onset and blocked extremely well with his gloves and forearms along with more subtle head movement and even some shoulder rolling.  However, his best defense is his offense and that was muted too often.  Marquez kept him farther away than he did the first time, mixing in some ripping left hooks to the body.  That distance left Manny missing a number of his needed left hands.  As the fight wore on, Pacquiao’s tendency to become predictable as he rocks side to side emerged but he found that Marquez was open for short, lead right hooks which allowed him to stem some of Marquez’s momentum.  One of the reasons this two-fight rivalry will be well remembered is that both men got hit; they proved in both, with a mix of overall technique, that one need not fight alley-style to bring the crowd to its feet.  Pre-Fight Grades: Pacquiao B; Marquez A-/Post-Fight: Same

Intangibles:   I wrote in the build to this bout that “Both men have proven chins.  Both men have proven hearts.  Both have proven that they can overcome adversity.”   Is any of that in dispute after twelve more rounds against each other?  Adversity thy name was cuts and swollen eyes for both.  Heart thy name was getting off the deck in the third for Marquez and Manny flaming forward in the tenth to stop the fight from slipping away.  Chins thy name was two men still standing after two wars.  Pacquiao’s enthusiasm for competitive violence remains.  At 34, Marquez found the place inside himself that still yearns for the recognition and accolades that he failed to receive in his prime.  There are professional fighters.  Pre-Fight Grades: Pacquiao A; Marquez A/Post-Fight: Add a + to both those “A’s”

Overall Report Card: Pacquiao A; Marquez A

Through three Saturdays in March 2008, boxing has proven that the vitality it showed throughout 2007 is alive and well and, if this was the last battle between the Fab Four of Pacquiao, Marquez, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, it was a fitting farewell.  That each combatant has strong futures ahead leaves fans many thrills to ponder.

Pacquiao, who now is the first former World Flyweight champion to win the Featherweight and Jr. Lightweight championships, and only the ninth man to win three legitimate world titles in three weight classes, appears headed up once more.  Having gained some 16 lbs. after Friday’s weigh-in, he may have no other choice.  Can he become the first true four-division World champion?

His first stop at 135 lbs. will likely be against an okay WBC titlist in David Diaz.  That’s a winnable fight.  From there, Team Manny will have to be selective.  Men like World Lightweight champion Joel Casamayor and contenders Nate Campbell, Michael Katsidis and Juan Diaz are real lightweights with a natural size advantage Manny hasn’t seen yet.  Will his power carry?  We’re about to find out.

Marquez has his own steps to consider.  If Manny is no longer a Jr. Lightweight, Marquez assumes the de facto number one spot (just like he did when Manny rose in weight after Manny successfully defended the Featherweight title with a draw against him four years ago).  Edwin Valero would give him a winnable fight for a belt; Joan Guzman would be more challenging but a win would make him legitimately the champion in Manny’s stead.  It’s a pleasure to look forward to more from this honorable, if unlucky, warrior.

Tomorrow though is a day away and today we can continue to soak up the results in front of us.  It was a repeat-viewing worthy show.  Could it have been any less?

Cliff Rold is a member of the Ring Magazine Ratings Advisory Panel and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com